Siloxane oligomers can be used for many purposes, including abrasion resistant coatings, antistatic coatings, hydrophobic coatings, non-stick release coatings, corrosion resistant coatings, optical coatings such as optical fiber coatings and anti-reflective coatings, optical waveguides, adhesives, composites, oils, encapsulants for semiconductors, and coupling agents to promote adhesion between organic and inorganic surfaces.
Siloxane oligomers have been prepared by hydrolysis of silicon alkoxides, resulting in the formation of silanol monomers. Condensation and polymerization reactions of silanol monomers yield the siloxane oligomers. The hydrolysis and condensation reactions are accelerated by acid catalysts such as HCl, H2SO4, HF or by base catalysts such as NH3 or NaOH. In the absence of such catalysts, these reactions proceed very slowly. In addition, the functionality of the resulting oligomers may be impaired, as these catalysts can react with and degrade the functionality of the siloxane oligomers, as well as other functional groups present, during synthesis reactions.
Coatings that include siloxane oligomers may be deposited on articles including cover plates of display devices such as field emission displays, liquid crystal displays (LCDs), plasma display panels (PDPs), electroluminescence displays (ELDs), cathode ray tube displays (CRTs), fluorescence tube displays, meters, clocks, and the like. Such coatings may also be used in the manufacture of televisions, personal digital assistants (PDAs), cellular phones, vehicle dashboards, projection screens, hand-held games and the like. These coatings may also be deposited on optical articles such as eyeglasses, lenses, prisms, optical windows, photomask substrates, pellicles used in photomask assemblies, and the like. Such coatings may also be deposited on other articles where the properties of siloxane oligomers are beneficial to the article, or for use of the article.
Siloxane oligomers can be used in various coating compositions. Such coatings may provide abrasion resistant, antistatic, and/or hydrophobic properties when deposited on transparent or non-transparent articles. The coatings may be deposited using various methods.